1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to spray on wound dressing bandages, and, more particularly, to compositions suitable for forming an anti-microbial film dressing including a permanently bound, effective anti-microbial agent.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The advantages of using a spray on wound dressing in place of gauze bandages for protection of wounds from infection and water is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,801,201; 2,804,073; 2,972,545; 3,073,794; 3,079,299; 3,269,903; 3,476,853; 3,577,516; and 3,932,602; and in the J. Biomedical Material Research, Vol. 6, p. 571-590 (1972). Generally such wound dressings are compositions of two components, namely, a film-forming polymer and an anti-microbial substance, which are applied as a liquid, or sprayed with an aerosol propellant.
The requirements of a suitable spray on wound dressing is an ability to form a flexible non-irritating thin polymer film which is innocuous to the wound, which conforms to the skin surface and exhibits good skin adhesion, possesses a high moisture transmission rate to permit some wound excretion to pass through the film and evaporate moisture from the covered surface, and which prevents bacterial and dirt invasion. These and other attributes of an idealized spray on wound dressing, while known, have been difficult to achieve in prior art compositions for this use.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved spray on wound dressing composition.
Another object herein is to provide a spray on wound dressing capable of forming an anti-microbial film which is non-toxic, non-irritating, flexible, skin conformal and air permeable and which allows the epitheral tissue to regrow without substantial water loss.
A specific object of this invention is to provide an improved spray on wound dressing composition in which both the anti-microbial and film-forming components of the composition are present in one compound.
These and other objects and features of the invention will be made apparent from the following particular description of the invention.